Between the manuscripts of the British Museum of London, and catalogued with Nº 17,592, is Description of Peru by Tadeo Haënke, partner of the Academies of Sciences of Vienna and the Prague, manuscript from which the Peruvian government, in 1890, makes copy.

The name of Haënke is not the one of a stranger in the field of science. To the twelve years of the death of Haënke, this is in 1830, published his Reliquiæ Hænkeanæ, with description and engravings of trees and South American plants, work that is today a bibliographical peculiarity and of that a unit exists in the library of the Geographic Society of Lima, that was property of the eminent geologist and Raimondi naturalist.

Manuel Vicente Ballivián, Director of the Central office of Immigration of Bolivia, gives light, in 1898 Description of mountains inhabited by the Indians yurucares, and in 1900 Introduction to the Natural History of Cochabamba, both reproduced unpublished works of Haënke, are few months and with warm tribute, in the first volume of Annals of the Library of Buenos Aires.

Débese to the initiative of the Director of Promotion, Ing. Jose Balta, the publication that, sponsored by Eduardo Lopez de Romaña, of interesting Description of Peru, to which of it adds, to consider it complementary of the plan of the work, one Memory of the navigable rivers that flow to the Marañón, which it presented/displayed Haënke, in 1799, to the Intendant of Cochabamba, small existing manuscript in the Library of Lima, and that before now has been published.

By the affection of the informed and laborious Buenosairean university professor doctor Pedro N. Arata, the picture whereupon exorna that book, and that is faithful copy del that appeared in a scientific newspaper of Germany. Doctor Arata, enthusiastic admirer of Haënke, published, in 1896, in an Argentine magazine, precious observations to the report of that one on the saltpeter of Tarapacá.

They made its biography on the untiring explorer, between that the one of Pedro Kramer, secretary of the Geographic Society of Bolivia, and the one of the Director of the Library of Buenos Aires are culminating, being also deserving of loa the brief notes of Mendiburu and Raimondi.

In its book Description of Peru, comments:

History

Been born in Bohemia, a city that formerly belonged to Hungary and that today is part of Slovakia, Haenke realized its studies in the capital of the Empire, the Prague . There it marched to the eleven years, learning mathematical and astronomy.

In 1780, enters the local University and happened soon to the University of Vienna, where it studied botany, medicine and mineralogy.

In 1789, an event came to change its life. On the verge of beginning the Malaspina expedition (called thus by the name of its commander, Alexander Malaspina ), the adventure with scientific aims more important of the time, the Spanish government asked for to the University of Vienna the shipment of a botanical specialist it integrated so that it. Him election fell to Haenke, that enjoyed the great prestige between its professors and colleagues, and, with its 28 years, had to march to Spain to be united to the cartographers, painters and numerous naturalists who were on the verge of embarking, in Cadiz, in the called corvettes: Open pie and Bold, that participated in the expedition.

A series of unfortunate circumstances for Haenke began then, that nevertheless would be fundamental for their scientific work in America. In principle, when it arrived at Cadiz, the corvettes already had started off, and had to approach another ship in the direction of Montevideo .

The trip lasted three months and finished bad, since the boat was shipwrecked in waters of River of the Silver, and Haenke was saved to I swim with its Linnaeus and its papers. It remained in Montevideo by some time, during which it realized numerous botanical expeditions and it collected almost 800 plants. There in December, finally, it could happen to Buenos Aires, hoping to find the ships of the Expedition, but one was with a new misfortune, since these had left to the south several days before.

Without being frightened, Haenke inspected the river the Shells and Parana, picked up 600 botanical species and volume zoological and mineralógicas notes during two months.

In February of 1790, decided to cross to wide it the country, course to Chile, in a passage that stops the time was still fantastic. It did it to Haenke: first it registered the Cordovan and puntanas mountain ranges, and arrived at Mendoza in March, with 500 new plants in its collection. On that month end, it crossed the Mountain range, joining other 600 plants of the mountain flora.

arrived 2 from April at Santiago, in Chile, and there, finally, it could find several members of the expedition, although not to the corvettes, that hoped in Valparaiso.

Integrated at the expedition, it arrived at the Pebble. Then, it requested permission to Malaspina to return to Buenos Aires by earth; in that city to approach one of the corvettes (that would return by the Cape Horn) and to return soon to Spain. To thus it was granted him, and Haenke initiated one long march through Peru, Bolivia and the Argentine north. In that periplo, ascended to Misti volcano, of 5300 Msnm, which was all a feat, it visited Cuzco and Arequipa, La Paz, the Bolivian north, the lake Titicaca, the mount Nevado de Ancohuma (of 6,500 Msnm ), Potosí and Cochabamba. In that place it interrupted his trip, without known reason, reason why Malaspina, that hoped in Buenos Aires, decided to return without him.

In Bolivia, Haenke studied the flora, the fauna and the mineralogy of the territory, exerted the medicine and introduced for the first time the medical technique of the vaccination. Also one specialized in the study of it native plants with pharmacological properties.

Later, Haenke fixed them to arrive at Spain, where in 1795 published Description of Peru, Buenos Aires, etc., with the results of its particular expeditions, and Herbal of Pampas of Buenos Aires, Mendoza and the Mountain range of Chile, lighting system during its stay in Cochabamba.

Then, it returned to America and Cochabamba, where wrote Introduction to the natural history of the province of Cochabamba and circumbecinas with its productions analyzed and described, and Memory on the navigable rivers that flow of the Marañón river (1799) .

Towards 1807, it marched to Buenos Aires, where it acted in the army during the English invasions, like instructor of the militias and specialist in the powder manufacture by means of the purification of the saltpeters.

After Recapture of the city, exerted the media, writing numerous articles in the Mercantile Telegraph, and was designated Professor of Natural History of the United Provinces of the River of the Silver, although it did not last much in the position, since the virrey Cisneros soon decreed its expulsion of the city. Haenke asked for a prorogation for its game, that was decided to him. Meanwhile, the Revolution happened and with the fall of Cisneros it was without effect the expulsion decree.

Then, it decided to march again to Cochabamba, where in 1817 a domestic accident brought about the death to him.

The work of Haenke was rescued by Loved Bompland, its successor in the position of Professor of Natural History, and, many years later, promoted by Paul Groussac, its redescubridor.

Biography

Tadeo Haënke was born in Treibltz (Bohemia) 5 from October from 1761, and made its studies in the Seminary of the Prague and the University of Vienna.

Listing the Spanish government, in 1788, the scientific expedition that, to orders of the Captain gift Alexander Malaspina, had to come to America and the Australian Continent, asked for Carlos IV of the University of Vienna that provided a naturalist to him whose competition already was laid the foundations. Haënke was the designated one by the wise corporation, and contracted with the pay of one hundred fifty pesos the month.

Haënke arrived at Cadiz to the few days of clawing Expedition of Malaspina, and without loss of time it embarked in a merchant ship in the direction of Montevideo. A shipwreck, in which our traveller was in danger serious, motivated the one that arrived at Montevideo like the customs officers of the opereta (trop tard). The corvettes were sailing for patagónicas Coasts and Chileans. Haënke undertook the trip by earth, and was in April of 1790 when, in Santiago, along with Malaspina and its companions of exploration.

One of the biographers, whom we followed in this extract, and that is most meticulous and abundant in the news, thinks that the unique time was this one in which Haënke was in Chile.

In order to oppose we this affirmation, were based on forward edge whereupon Haënke gives to beginning to his Description of the Kingdom of Chile, written by hand that, st affirms, is going to print itself in Santiago. It says Haënke there that not being able to continue the navigation that, by the Cape Horn, was going to undertake the corvettes Bold and Open pie, because of to have developed escorbuto in the ship's crew, it had to disembark in the Pebble with the health very broken. The doctors of Lima recommended for convalecencia the climate to him of Chile, and obtained permission of the Virrey, he embarked the 16 of October of the 1793 in the merchant frigate Eagle. Haënke disembarked in the port of Conception (Talcahuano) in January of 1794, according to is read in the study of Kramer.

Malaspina, with the expeditionary understood ones of the scientific commission, after short scale in Coquimbo, Copiapó and Arica, arrived at the Pebble the 21 from May from 1790; and the 30 of December of the same year continued their itinerary, touching in Guayaquil and Panama towards the coast of Mexico, the Mariana Islands, Macao, the Philippines and Australia, from where they made the ships course to the Pebble, in which searched the 23 of 1793 July.

After its excursion by Chile in 1794, by the end of that year, principle to its explorations by the rivers Beni and Mamoré gave Haënke fixing, from 1795, its residence in Cochabamba, where it acquired or it formed a valuable property baptized with the name of Santa Cruz de Elicona.

Haënke bequeathed to its mother country its collections of plants, whose description and drawing they form the titled work Reliquiæ Hankeanæ, published in 1830 by the direction of the museum of the Prague. Don Antonio Raimondi, insigne and naturalistic wise person who devoted themselves to the service of Peru for more than forty years, says:

the authors of Flora Peruviana ET chilensis ( Ruiz & Pav. ) has transmitted to the posterity the memory of Tadeo Haënke, giving to their name to a plant open pie in mounts of Muña ( Haenkea multiflora ) and other naturalists also dedicated to great Haënke I number of plants.

Dated 25 of January of 1810 the virrey of Buenos Aires transcribed to the Intendant of Cochabamba a real order that, exactly, says:

The Governing Intendant of Cochabamba gift Jose González de Prada, answered Virrey Cisneros supporting the representation that presented/displayed Haënke to him, representation that complete we copied of Annals of the Library of Buenos Aires, to contain the autobiographical news that they have positive importance.